The newly formed Slovak government has announced the deployment of hundreds of policemen and soldiers along the Hungarian border, in order to curb the growing number of migrants who cross illegally into the country, agencies report.
Newly appointed populist Prime Minister Robert Fico said illegal migration must be controlled, warning that people linked to “terrorist” groups could otherwise enter the country.
He did not provide details of the deployment, but visited one of the border crossings late on Monday to review the measures.
“We want to send a clear signal that with the new government came a new approach to illegal migration,” said the Minister of the Interior, Matus Sutaj Estok.
Speaking to journalists, he added that “massive forces” will be deployed to defend border areas with Hungary that are not official crossings.
Slovakia has recently witnessed an increasing number of migrants and asylum seekers who use it as a transit country to cross, mainly from Serbia via Hungary, on their way to Western European countries.
On October 5, the previous Slovak government continued random controls at the border with Hungary. The decision came after its European Union neighbors – Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland – reintroduced controls at their borders with Slovakia to curb migration, Fena reports.
